# PARTAGAS Lusitanias box of 25. No stamp.



## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Hi all,

I've just been to the local cigar shop (the only one on the Island) and the guy showed me a box of Partagas Lusitanias box of 25, and tells me that this is the last box they have and it is Pre-2000.

I looked under the box but couldn't find any stamp.

so my question is: When did they start stamping the Cuban boxes? And how could I authenticate it? any things to look for?

Let me know.

Reza.


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## sligub (Apr 6, 2011)

There have been date stamps since 1984-85 I think. check out http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com for more info.


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## rocker06 (Jul 3, 2011)

Sweet website...


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks for that site. It seems the only way to find out is the band. I'll visit tomorrow and Hopefully it is pre-2000.

They are selling it for 358 USD. Do you guys think it is worth it if it really were pre-2000?!


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks for that site. It seems the only way to find out is the band. I'll visit tomorrow and Hopefully it is pre-2000.

They are selling it for 358 USD. Do you guys think it is worth it if it really were pre-2000?!


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## Nathan King (Nov 4, 2010)

The box of pre-2000 cigars should have either the original NIVELACUSO code (1985-1998 ) or the CODIGUNETA code (1999). They're either pre 1985 (highly doubtful) or suspicious. Honestly, if it's not a LCDH I'd be wary.


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Sorry nathan but I'm not yet familiar with cuban coding. 

Do you mean that if the box is from 1985-1998 it will have NIVELACUSO stamped on it and if 1999 it will be CODIGUNETA ?!


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

Nathan King said:


> The box of pre-2000 cigars should have either the original NIVELACUSO code (1985-1998 ) or the CODIGUNETA code (1999). They're either pre 1985 (highly doubtful) or suspicious. Honestly, if it's not a LCDH I'd be wary.


:amen:


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

rizzjustrizz said:


> Sorry nathan but I'm not yet familiar with cuban coding.
> 
> Do you mean that if the box is from 1985-1998 it will have NIVELACUSO stamped on it and if 1999 it will be CODIGUNETA ?!


In a sense. Each letter equals a number in those codes. It will provide you the month and year the cigars were boxed.

If you don't see a code burned in the bottom of the box, they're fakes.


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## GregSS (Aug 12, 2010)

If you're buying a box of Lusitanias, I hope you have plenty of time to smoke!


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## Nathan King (Nov 4, 2010)

rizzjustrizz said:


> Sorry nathan but I'm not yet familiar with cuban coding.
> 
> Do you mean that if the box is from 1985-1998 it will have NIVELACUSO stamped on it and if 1999 it will be CODIGUNETA ?!


Not exactly. A NIVELACUSO coded date will be either three or four letters stamped on the bottom. A CODIGUNETA coded box will have four letters coded for the month and year. The following link provides a more detailed explanation. As mentioned, no stamping indicates that either the cigars were boxed prior to 1985 (the owner would have told you if this was the case and price would be much higher) or the box and contents within are suspect. I would assume the latter and politely pass.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Is it pre 1985?

Cuban Box Codes
You already noticed that every box of Cuban cigars has a strange stamp on the bottom. Probably you also know that it designates the factory and date of production. But do you know how to understand it? 







Till 1985 not a single box of Cuban cigars had any codes. Nothing except for the proud inscription Hecho en Cuba. Neither the dates, nor factory names. Francisco Padron, who was the president of Habanos S.A. at that time, entered the modern history of Cuban cigar industry with a decision to define the manufacturers and to introduce production identification. In 1985 stamps with information about the factory, month and year of production appeared. But this information was encoded...
Two Spanish words of five letters each were chosen for date coding: Nivel and Acuso. Their letters corresponded to numbers from 1 to 0. The code consisted of four letters. The first two corresponded to the month, the second two - the year of release:
N I V E L A C U S O
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Factory codes consisted of two or three letters, which were an abbreviation for post revolutionary factory names. 
For example, FPG OAUC means that cigars were made in Partagas factory in June, 1987. Does any aficionado know that factory founded by Haime Partagas in 1845, now in the Cuban state annals is named after Fransisko Peres Germana, the hero of the Cuban revolution (this gives a code FPG)? 
Codes were necessary purely for service using. Particularly, to reveal those who make defects. Actually, the Spanish words are translated as level ("nivel") and accusation ("acuso"). By that time the number of complaints regarding poor quality of Havanas overflowed and this brought out the necessity of strict punishment against careless employees including factory directors.
What Happened After? The first system of codes existed for almost fourteen years. Probably because there were almost no foreign tourists on the Island. However after the USSR dissolve Cuba stopped receiving financial help. In order to support the state Cuban government opened their borders for tourists. The tourists (first of all, aficionados) have revealed the mysterious cigar codes visiting factories and systematizing the data.







In December 1998 this information appeared in the Internet and Habanos decided to change the codes.
The phrase Codigo Uneta was taken for a basis. The first word is the "code", the second - the name of the organization which supervised the work of all factories - La Union de Empresas del Tabaco de Cuba (now it's Tabacuba). To fit 5 letters format, the word Codigo lost the last 'o'. The correspondence of letters to figures has been changed as well: the word Codig corresponded to figures upside-down 98765 and Uneta - to figures 01234. Thus, the word for decoding was quite strange: Netagidocu.
C O D I G U N E T A
9 8 7 6 5 0 1 2 3 4
N E T A G I D O C U
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Besides if earlier the date was stamped in a format "MMYY" now the sequence has changed: the first two - last figures of year, then month.
They have also introduced a new letter designation for factories. It consisted of three letters and had no rule except one: first letter stood for the province from which the cigars came. Letter "E" corresponded to the factories of Havana city, "T" - Havana province, "O" - Cienfuegos province, "N" - Granma, "U" - Houlgin, "G" - Pinar del Rio, "C" - Sancti Spiritus, "D" - Villia Clara, "A" - Santiago de Cuba.

For example, if the stamp on the Montecristo Especial box was EAT CCUE it meant that these cigars were made in the Partagas factory in  February 1999.
Having appeared in January 1999, the new codes existed only four months. After they were cracked and the key has appeared on the Internet, CigarNexus | Your Online Cigar Magazine and Opinions, Cubans were forced to replace the coding again.
From May 1999 till January 2000 the designation of date of manufacture looked in the following way:
EPOO - May 1999
ESOO - June 1999
EUOO - July 1999
EAOO - August 1999
EOOO - September 1999
LEOO - October 1999
LLOO - November 1999
LROO - December 1999
ELOO - January 2000
Since January 2000 Cubans stopped hiding the date of manufacture and made it quite clear: first three letters of month (in Spanish) and two last numbers of year. 







ENE - enero - January
FEB - febrero - February
MAR - marzo - March
ABR - abril - April
MAY - mayo - May
JUN - junio - June
JUL - julio - July
AGO - agosto - August
SET - setiembre - September
OCT - octubre - October
NOV - noviembre - November
DIC - diciembre - December
Factory code now consisted of 2 - 4 letters and could change from time to time. It was selected with the help of computer, and same factory could have two codes at the same time. Thus it is much more difficult now to tell precisely the factory and the city in which the cigars were made. In such chaos even checking inspectors not always receive the duly information on the stamps in time to reveal those who make poor quality cigars. The only good way for us, fans of Havanas, to 'keep abreast' - is to bypass all Cuban factories and 'read' the codes every few months.
Checked up: good draw!

We should also mention about an additional stamp on the bottom of a box - revisado, that means 'checked'. And that's how it appeared...
On the occasion of a new millennium Cuban authorities decided to release 200 000 000 cigars (Cuba hadn't produced such volumes of cigars after revolution). However the crop of 1999 turned out to be not really good and the quality of tobacco appeared mediocre. The decision of the Party was not affected in any way, besides they put additional lines of sorters and twisters, which weren't qualified enough (it is clear - professionals were engaged already).
As a result only one hundred forty five cigars have been sold out of 200 000 000. The information about bad crop has reached consumers and smokers didn't want to buy these Havanas. Even official distributors refused from buying cigars of 2000 year production.
When it was clear that these cigars won't sell out, the direction of Habanos S.A. decided to give them another chance. It was impossible to change the quality of tobacco, but technical problems could be corrected. 
They opened a box, checked the draw, blend and taste and tried to "repair" the cigar. If they succeeded the cigar was returned to the box, otherwise - destroyed. All "checked " boxes were marked with a stamp revisado, which served as a guarantee to smokers that all problems were eliminated. While opening a box for check, the guarantee seal was cut and when a stamp was put the new seal was attached above the old one. 
About other inscriptions in brief Before the revolution of 1959 all stamps were in English: Made in Cuba or Made in Habana-Cuba. Since 1960 - in Spanish: Hecho en Cuba. Till 1994 all boxes were stamped as Cubatabaco, after that - Habanos S.A. In 1989 Totalmente a mano inscription has appeared (old inscription was Hecho a mano), and in 2004 - Tripa corta (or TP), informing about short filler.


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## Frinkiac7 (Dec 12, 2008)

rizzjustrizz said:


> Thanks for that site. It seems the only way to find out is the band.


If it's pre-2000 will it even have a band?


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## sligub (Apr 6, 2011)

Frinkiac7 said:


> If it's pre-2000 will it even have a band?


Cigars have been banded since the 1830s the partagas band for pre 2000 would look like this











Nathan King said:


> Honestly, if it's not a LCDH I'd be wary.


+1


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

No stamp? Run.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

As Jeff said, I'd run.


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## lebz (Mar 26, 2011)

Pass and maybe give him an education! Puff style


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks guys thats some great info!! I'm passing by hopefully tomorrow and will look under the box.

*One more thing guys: there is another box Partagas Churchill Deluxe stamped FPG OISU. 
Any idea? it's the last one as well.*


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

Reza
Not to piss in your corn flakes, but when I buy aged inventory,
I only buy from a place that is likely to have stored them properly.
Personally, I would not buy aged inventory unless it was from an LCDH
or reputable dealer. The fact that this shop may be selling fakes is a big "RED LIGHT"


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

asmartbull said:


> Reza
> Not to piss in your corn flakes, but when I buy aged inventory,
> I only buy from a place that is likely to have stored them properly.
> Personally, I would not buy aged inventory unless it was from an LCDH
> or reputable dealer. The fact that this shop may be selling fakes is a big "RED LIGHT"


I hope they are legit. As they are the only dealers in Bahrain. "La Casa Del Habano".


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## zenom (Aug 30, 2011)

Take it from a guy who just got scammed out of 2 boxes. If there is ANYTHING fishy, (no stamps, improper labels (seven slightly), etc), best to save your money until you are 100% sure of what you have.


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## JGD (Mar 2, 2009)

rizzjustrizz said:


> I hope they are legit. As they are the only dealers in Bahrain. "La Casa Del Habano".


If they are the La Casa del Habana in Manama, then you should be good to go any anything they are selling. You should recheck the First box, as there should not be any fakes sold there.


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## Nathan King (Nov 4, 2010)

rizzjustrizz said:


> Thanks guys thats some great info!! I'm passing by hopefully tomorrow and will look under the box.
> 
> *One more thing guys: there is another box Partagas Churchill Deluxe stamped FPG OISU.
> Any idea? it's the last one as well.*


Boxed February 1998 at the Partagas Francisco Perez German factory.


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## rhetorik (Jun 6, 2011)

No stamp sounds really fishy to me, but the fact that it's from LCDH makes me wonder. I had a weird experience at the LCDH in Grand Caymen, the I asked if they sold any Behike singles, and he said yeah we do, and he had a big pile of UNBANDED cigars that he said he had just brought over on a boat, that he told me were Behikes and were marked at $35 for the 52. So maybe not all LCDH's are as trust worthy as we think they are.


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Nathan King said:


> Boxed February 1998 at the Partagas Francisco Perez German factory.


Nathan, How in God's name did you find that out?! I've been googling FSG OISU and found ZILCH!!

Very impressive my friend.


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

Nathan King said:


> Boxed February 1998 at the Partagas Francisco Perez German factory.


Nathan, How in God's name did you find that out?! I've been googling FSG OISU and found ZILCH!!

Very impressive my friend.


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

I guess I'll stay away from the No stamp box.

thanks guys for everything.


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## rizzjustrizz (Jun 19, 2011)

JGD said:


> If they are the La Casa del Habana in Manama, then you should be good to go any anything they are selling. You should recheck the First box, as there should not be any fakes sold there.


Yes it is Jim. Will be passing by over the weekend. Thank you.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Jeez is this still going back and forth! Fella's listen up i am only going to say this once! Never seen or heard of fakes coming out of any LCDH ever! Any such talk is myth or urban legend! Trash talk for lack of a better word!


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

Actually stranger things have happenned.
A LCDH that was having trouble getting inventory
partnered with a vendor with a questionable reputation.
He went out of business....Just saying


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

asmartbull said:


> Actually stranger things have happenned.
> A LCDH that was having trouble getting inventory
> partnered with a vendor with a questionable reputation.
> He went out of business....Just saying


Yes this is true BullMan he slipped through the cracks for awhile. But when caught he was shut down immediately! I personally wrote him off way before that. For his questionable custom rolls and all the charges that appeared on my card, Out of nowhere!


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Jeez is this still going back and forth! Fella's listen up i am only going to say this once! *Never seen or heard of fakes coming out of any LCDH ever*! Any such talk is myth or urban legend! Trash talk for lack of a better word!


I have, many times.


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## karmaz00 (Dec 5, 2007)

Tarks said:


> No stamp? Run.


what he said...seems fishy


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Tarks said:


> I have, many times.


I have heard of workers swapping out sticks. This is done in Govt stores as well in Cuba. What i meant to say is LCDH as a franchise is not in the business of selling fakes. They are a legitimate franchise.


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## karmaz00 (Dec 5, 2007)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> I have heard of workers swapping out sticks. This is done in Govt stores as well in Cuba. What i meant to say is LCDH as a franchise is not in the business of selling fakes. They are a legitimate franchise.


in the partagas factory last week, a buddy of mine, bought a party lousi, and brought it in, a few of us, were like thats not a lousi...lol maybe not a fake CC, but it was the same length as a lousi but it was like 10 more RG bigger... goes to show, i wold never buy singles from there....i think jeff (tarks) had a simlar situation last year...


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## HydroRaven (Oct 10, 2010)

So your friend bought a dodgy cigar from the Partagas factory? How did it smoke?


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## Tarks (Mar 3, 2009)

As far as LCDH's in Cuba, there are fakes to be had. Everyone, and I mean everyone (from employees to management) has some sort of angle to make a dollar. Buying singles in Cuba is sketchy at best and sticking to boxes is the way to go. I have seen, purchased and smoked fakes from several LCDH stores in Cuba throughout the years. It doesn't stop me from buying though. You just have to be aware.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Tarks said:


> As far as LCDH's in Cuba, there are fakes to be had. Everyone, and I mean everyone (from employees to management) has some sort of angle to make a dollar. Buying singles in Cuba is sketchy at best and sticking to boxes is the way to go. I have seen, purchased and smoked fakes from several LCDH stores in Cuba throughout the years. It doesn't stop me from buying though. You just have to be aware.


An educated consumer makes the best customer!
Always appreciate your input Jeff!
Real knowledge from someone who really gets to see what its all about!


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